Method of treating wood



Patented Apr. 2, 1935 I h t I v UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE 7 METHOD OF TREATING woon 7 Samuel D. Butterworth, Detroit, Mich, assignor of one-half to JosephineM. Butterworth, De-

tsrog, Mich and one-halfto C. P. Gable, Gable,

No Drawing. Application November '1, 1930, s i-mi No. 494,166

4 Claims. (Cl. 99-12 This invention has to do with the treatment of quantity of mineral oil and spirits may vary, various kinds of woods and particularly the treatbut about two pounds of paraflin to a gallon of ment of woods for use in an end grain manner. mineral spirits is thought to be a satisfactory The invention is not to be limited to the use of bath. Also, preferably, in this bath there is a 5 woods in this manner, but this is an advantasmall percentage, say for example, 5% of vege- 5 geous manner of use of woods thus treated. table oil such as linseed or tung oil. This bath In my Patent #l,736,l86 of November 19, 1929, is kept fairly well heated, preferably about there is described the method of treating certain 150 F., and the block or blocks are submerged kinds of wood to hardenthe wood and for bringin the bath for a sumcient period to permit the ing out coloring in the wood and grain effect. penetrating oil to enter the pores of the wood 10 The present invention relates to certain improved carrying with it, of course, the paraflin and vegefeatures in a. method of this kind applicable to table oil. The length of this period issubject several difierent kinds of wood and in which the to variation and depends somewhat upon the method is controllable in such manner that preparticular wood employed, "thickness of the determined coloring or gain eiIects in thewood blocks, etc., but about fifteen minutes for this 15 may be produced. In addition to this the presbath is thought to be sufllcient. ent method contemplates a sequence of steps I Following this treatment, 'the wood is treated such that the moisture content of the wood is with an alkali. For this purpose the wood may be not materially varied. submerged in a bath of sodium silicate in which In general, the present method contemplates the alkali content is controlled as desired. An 20 treating the d ith an oil which' s ves, example of such a bath may be'50% silicate of among other things, to maintain the moisture da Ofnormal Specific i y aum and t t 01 t wood, and t an alkali which 50% of water. To this bath may be added alkali serves, at least in part, to bring out coloring in sufiicient quantity to effect the desired results,

and/or grain effect in the wood and which may a d f r thi Purpose potassium hydroxide or so- -25 also serve for hardening the wood. As examples dium hydroxide may be used. This bath is also of wood which can be thus treated woods of the pt d, Say o F. in family may b ited, su h s for am n In the first bath the mineral spirits penetrate long leaf yellow pine, loblolly pine, and Rosemary the Wood carrying into the W h paraflln and ine, Also cypress, particularly gulf red cypress; linseed oil, and inasmuch as the mineral spirits 30 redwood, red cedar. Long leaf yellow pine is .is volatile the inner pores and fiber-of the wood particularly adapted for treatment by the methare left with a content of parafiin which seals 0d as is gulf red cypress. These two wood r the wood as regards its moisture content. The probably the ones to be preferred for the method, linseed e 1 y lizes in the wood although th oth r woods may b used which efiects a hardening of the wood and gives 35 The procedure contemplatgs utilizing wooden .it a hardened finish. The wood being treated blocks cut in an end grain manner; that is to say, may be withdrawn directly from the first oil the grain runs in the direction of the h rt bath and immediately immersed into the second dimension of the blo k so that wh n th bl k alkali or water glass bath. Due to the fact that 40 1 1am on the floor, for example, the grain is the wood has been previously treated with an oil 40 disposed vertically. First the wood is properIy bath the same does not readily permit of penedried as by means of a dry kiln to bring th tration in the second bath. However, it has'been moisture content to the desired point, and this discovered that y S engthening the alkali conmay be done either before or after the wood is t f the Second h y h ddi i n an t t t l k Th mo k of wood may adequate amount of potash or caustic soda that 45 be individually treated by the method, or they sufiicient penetration into the wood for the purmay be united to form a tile block consisting of pose desired is effected; Color and grain effect everal separate wood blo k fitted and glued of the wood is brought out by the action of the t th r, alkali and the extent to which the color and grain The blocks of wood, or tile form d of ral effect is produced may be controlled by the alkali blocks, whichever happens to be preferred, may content of this bath. -In other words, the greater be first treated with an oil as by means of subthe alkali content in the second bath, the greater merging the same in a bath. This bath may the color producing effect. Sodium silicate in itcomprise a penetrating oil such as mineral spirits self does not have great penetrating power in a which serves as a carrier for paraffin. The block previously oil treated. But the penetrating 55 and coloring effect may be increased by the addition to the second bath of the potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide. The blocks may be left in this second bath sufiiciently long to efiect the desired result, this time may vary with different woods and other conditions, but about fifteen minutes for the second bath is thought to suffice. In any'event the coloring may be controlled by the alkali content.

Another manner of proceedingis'to form an emulsion of the substances of the first two baths, maintain it at the required temperaturelsam. for example, at about F., and treat the wood in the emulsion as by submerging the blocks. With this arrangement the penetration in the wood is slower so that the treatment is longer, although the total length of time required in the wood emulsion bath and in the separate baths is about the same. In other words, by maintaining the blocks of wood in the emulsion about thirty minutes will suffice.

The blocks may be treated by reversal of the sequence of the first two steps; that is to say, by first treating the blocks with the alkaline solution and later with the penetrating oil and paraflin. This, however, is not preferred especially for some uses of the wood because the moisture content may be varied due to the water getting into the wood in the first treatment. However, thealkali content of the first bath need not be so great in this case because the wood can be readily penetrated inasmuch as it is not first treated with oil, but even here the alkali content can be controlled in order to give predetermined color effects in the wood. If there is a substantial varying inthe moisture content, the blocks of wood may swell up and not maintain their original size. 1

The sodium silicate also serves as a hardener for the wood. Where the wood is first treated with the sodium silicate the hardening effect may be substantially throughout the wood. When the wood is treated first with the oil the second treatment with the sodium silicate does not readily permit penetration into the wood. Accordingly, in this case the wood is hardened near its surface andthe penetration thereof is sufficient to harden and color the wood to a sumcient depth so that it will withstand long usage and wear without losing its original color.

The linseed or tung'oil may be omitted and the result accomplished satisfactory for many purposes, yet it is preferred that these, 'or other equivalent oils be used because the crystallization and hardening effect. The emulsion may be maintained in a substantially constant condition as by means of agitating the same.

Blocks or tile of wood thus treated may be used advantageously for end grain wooden fiooring, and this is one of the most important uses although the wood may also be used in such places as panel work, wainscoting, furniture or the like. In a fioor the original color is maintained for a long period, and even where the blocks are first treated with the oil, paraflin, etc,, the penetration in the succeeding alkali bath is sufiiciently deep so that there is no danger of the flooring wearing away more than the penetration, and accordingly the hardened and colored surface is maintained so that there is substantially no show of wear.

I claim:

1. A method of treating long leaf yellow pine which comprises first treating the wood in a bath consisting of mineral spirits, parafiin carried by the mineral spirits, a quantity of linseed oil, then subjecting the wood to a bath of sodium silicate with an added alkaline constituent, and determining the amount of alkaline constituent to produce desired wood coloring.

, 2. A method of treating long leaf yellow pine which comprises first treating the wood in a bath consisting of mineral spirits, paraflin carried by the mineral spirits, a quantity of linseed oil.

maintaining the bath at about 150 lit, then subjeoting the wood to a bath of sodium silicate with an added alkaline constituent, maintaining this bath at about 150 F.,' and determining the amount of alkaline constituent to produce desired wood coloring.

3. A method of fixing the moisture content, hardening and producing color in wood which comprises, first subjecting a piece of the wood to a heated bath of paraflin oil for a period suifici'ent for the paraffin oil to penetrate into the pores of the wood, then subjecting the said piece of wood to a heated alkaline bath of silicate of soda for a period sufiicient for penetration of the alkali into the oil-carrying wood, and incorporating in said alkaline bath additional alkaline selected from the group which consists of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide in such quantity as to give to the solution a requisite increase in penetrability into the wood to determine the coloringof the wood.

4. A method of fixing the moisture content, hardening and producing color in wood of the pine family which comprises, first subjecting a piece of the wood to a heated bath of paraffin oil .for a period sufficient for the paraflin oil to penetrate into the pores of the wood, then subjecting the said piece of wood to a heated alkaline bath of'silicate of soda for a period sufficient for penetration of the alkali into the oil-carrying wood, and incorporating in said' alkaline bath additional alkaline selected from the group which consists of potassium hydroxide or .sodium hydroxide in such quantity as to give to the solution a requisite increase in penetrability into the wood to' determine the coloring of the wood.

SAMUEL D. BU'I'IERWOR'I'H. 

